Bishop Timothy C. Senior has released a sweeping pastoral vision letter for the Diocese of Harrisburg, calling clergy, consecrated men and women, and lay faithful alike to renew their commitment to the Gospel and “stir into flame” the gifts of faith bestowed through Baptism and Confirmation.
Stir Into Flame: A Pastoral Vision for the Diocese of Harrisburg was issued on June 21 — the third anniversary of Bishop Senior’s installation as Bishop of Harrisburg and the memorial of St. Aloysius Gonzaga. The letter draws its guiding image from St. Paul’s exhortation to Timothy: “I remind you to stir into flame the gift of God that you have through the imposition of my hands” (2 Timothy 1:6-7). Organized around five interconnected themes, the letter offers both a frank assessment of the diocese’s current challenges and a confident call to missionary renewal.
Divine Worship
At the heart of the letter is a renewed emphasis on divine worship as the “source and summit” of Catholic life. Bishop Senior notes with concern that only about 25 percent of registered Catholics in the diocese attend Mass each weekend, and he urges parishes to move beyond minimalism toward a celebration of the Eucharist that is both liturgically rich and interiorly transformative.
Priestly Life and Vocations
Acknowledging that the Diocese faces a period of time without priestly ordinations in the coming years — the first since 1999 — Bishop Senior renews his urgent appeal for vocations. He calls on families, parishes, schools, and catechists to foster a culture in which young men can hear and respond to God’s call. He also asks parishioners to draw their priests into the joyful moments of life, not only the difficult ones, and to pray for them consistently.
Catholic Education
Citing a recent address by Pope Leo XIV on the 60th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council’s document on Catholic education, Bishop Senior affirms the indispensable role of Catholic schools while acknowledging serious challenges — aging facilities, deferred maintenance, and unequal access, particularly in urban and immigrant communities. He also highlights the critical importance of campus ministry and expresses hope that FOCUS missionaries might one day serve every Catholic campus ministry in the diocese.
Evangelization
Drawing on the Disciple Maker Index — a self-assessment tool in which parishes throughout the diocese recently participated — Bishop Senior identifies a widespread sense of inadequacy among the faithful when it comes to sharing their faith. He calls Catholics to embrace an “apostolic mode” of discipleship: one that witnesses not through institutional authority but through the credibility of lives transformed by Christ.
Charity
In a wide-ranging treatment of social concerns, Bishop Senior addresses immigration, human trafficking, prison conditions, and the needs of the poor. Consistent with Church teaching, he affirms the right of nations to secure their borders while insisting that enforcement must always respect the inherent dignity of every human person. He also renews the Church’s call for comprehensive immigration reform and the abolition of capital punishment.
Throughout the letter, Bishop Senior weaves together the voices of Scripture, the saints, and recent popes into a unified vision: that the renewal of the Church in Harrisburg begins not with programs or strategies, but with the personal conversion of each believer. Borrowing the words of St. Ignatius of Loyola, whose Jesuit spirituality has shaped the bishop’s own life, he closes with a challenge to every Catholic in the Diocese: “Go, set the world on fire.”
Read the pastoral vision document and the bishop’s cover letter introducing it at www.hbgdiocese.org.
